Too Many Questions
by LunaLikesSimonCats
Summary: A little backstory on why Neo is mute. Told from Emerald's PoV. Dark and somewhat bloody, but I don't think it merits an M rating.
**Hello, wonderful turtles! This is...another messed up RWBY fanfic. That seems to be all I write these days. I hope you like this, the idea has been bouncing around my head for a while.**

"Cinder?" Emerald was walking through the halls of their newest hideout. The rooms were cold, since the underground city they now lived in didn't have heaters of any sort. She looked into each room she passed, hoping to catch a glimpse of either Cinder or the new girl.

Emerald had only met the new girl a few days before, and she had immediately liked her more than Mercury or Roman. She was nice, but in a sarcastic, sassy sort of way that Emerald admired. She also looked like she was themed after Neapolitan ice cream, from her clothes to her hair to her eyes. The girl, appropriately named Neo, had come along as part of the Roman Torchwick deal, though they hadn't met her for a few months. Then, one day, she started tagging along with Roman, trailing behind him with a parasol over her shoulder. Mercury had learned early on not to mess with her, another reason why Emerald admired her.

Earlier that day, she'd gone off to ask Cinder something, and Emerald hadn't seen either of them for at least an hour. Hence the looking for them.

Emerald heard a crashing noise from ahead of her, coming from one of the many smaller storerooms. A scraping sound followed it, and the rustle of movement. Emerald ran to it, her heels slapping the grey carpet. When she made it to the door the noise was coming from, she did not hesitate to push it open. She leaned her head into the room.

"Hello? Neo, is that-"

Emerald cut off when she saw the scene before her. Cinder was leaned over a shelf, holding an exacto knife in one hand, the blade red and dripping. Her other hand was- wrapped around Neo's neck. The smaller girl had her back against the shelf, leaning into it, and she was a mess. Her cheek was bruised and swollen, and her hair fell in her face, sticky and dyed red with blood. Her eyes, which usually were brown and pink, were a pale white, with tears streaming from them and covering her face. Worst of all, her closed mouth was surrounded with blood, small streams of it trailing down her chin.

Emerald stood in shock, and Neo raised her head weakly. She shook her head the tiniest bit, and more blood ran from her mouth. Cinder turned around, away from Neo, to face the shocked and terrified thief. Emerald stepped back. Cinder released Neo and, as the latter fell to the ground, smiled.

"Don't worry, Emerald," she purred, walking closer and closer. "I have no reason to hurt you. You follow your orders and you **don't ask too many questions.** "

She directed the last bit towards Neo, who was looking down and making choking sounds. Emerald could see fat drops of blood falling from her lips.

"W-what, why…" Emerald was at a loss for words. She felt Cinder's hand creep onto her waist, and she shivered. A few hours ago, she would've felt honoured to have Cinder notice her, but now, she just wanted to get away from the cruel woman.

"She doesn't know when to be quiet, and it takes such a long time to train someone like her these things," Cinder continued, "I just...sped up the process."

Emerald used to admire Cinder so much. She'd thought that the older woman was some form of angel, beautiful and admirable, giving Emerald a second chance at life. But what kind of angel slices out a girl's tongue just because she asked a few questions? Cinder was an awful person, something that Emerald was pretty sure she'd always known, but now it was brought to light.

She could still see Neo in the background, shaking with silent sobs. Cinder gave Emerald one last cold smile before exiting the room. Emerald looked at Neo, and rushed over. The smaller girl generally held such an air of smugness, but now she looked broken. Emerald put an arm over Neo's tiny shoulders and prayed that the ice cream girl wouldn't lash out at her.

Neo looked up at Emerald, her eyes shining with tears. She looked scared. Emerald didn't know what to do. How were you supposed to comfort someone who'd just had their tongue cut out? Neo opened her mouth slightly, like she was going to try to say something, but no words came out. Instead, a river of sticky crimson blood spilled out and ran down onto Emerald's hand. The thief resisted the urge to wipe her hand off on Neo's coat.

They stayed like that for about half an hour, before Neo rose up and left the room. By then, she'd stopped crying. Emerald was left alone in the storeroom, small pools and splatters of Neo's blood surrounding her and the shelf. She ran out of the room as quickly as possible, wishing to pretend she'd never seen it.

But there was no forgetting.

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